I Drive Your Truck
by SapphireJ
Summary: one-shot about a lost friend and someone copes with it. Give it a shot;)


Just a little something that popped into my head as my kids and I were listening to the radio this morning. I own nothing here... not the characters nor the song.

A/N: I had to take the lyrics out of the song-fics. Someone reported them and this is the result. If you'd like a copy of the original version, PM me and I'll get it to you.

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Reaching into the front driver tire wheel well, he found the keys that he knew would be stashed there. Unlocking the door, he climbed in, shut the door, leaned back, and took a deep breath. It was a rough day and he just needed a few moments to collect his thoughts. His fingers toyed with the change in the ash tray as he remembered exactly when it was put in there.

They had just gotten back from a long mission; twenty-seven months, three weeks, four days, and thirteen hours. That was how long they'd been off US Soil. They loaded up into the truck, stopped for some Gatorade, chew, and Taco Bell. Unfortunately, being gone that long, they had each developed some bad habits. He'd gotten hooked on Taco Bell and his friend was hooked on Chew. The eighty-nine cents was all that was left until they hit the bank.

He started the engine, revved it up, and took off. As he tore down the driveway, he hit the buttons so all the windows rolled down and he could feel the breeze coming in. Heading for the back roads, he let his mind go blank. The truck knew where he was heading; the same place he always went when he needed to feel his friend.

As he pulled into the field, he saw the dust kicking up behind him. When he reached the middle of the field, he began going faster, turning the wheel here or there, not really sure which way he wanted to go. He just needed a few moments to forget what he was doing and remember his best friend. The friend he wanted back. The friend he missed so much. The friend that had a family he'd never know about. The family that is now his as he swore he'd take care of them forever.

He slowed the truck and reached for the radio. He already knew what would be playing. As much as he hated Country music, he couldn't get himself to change the station. He'd never change a thing in the truck except to make sure it always had gas and an oil change. He had to do that so he could keep it running for days like this.

It had been a year since they laid his friend to rest and he'd stopped over to see Mrs. Brown. Bobby was her only child and she'd taken it hard when he died that night. Bobby had been on a takedown with most of Rangeman. Things had gone horribly wrong and Bobby found himself on the wrong side of the gun at point blank range. The bullet pierced his Kevlar and his heart. They called it a cop-killer bullet. He never had a chance; he was dead before his body hit the ground.

Mrs. Brown asked if he'd been to the cemetery and he shook his head. He wasn't able to go there yet. He'd barely made it through the burial and he didn't think it would be any easier as time went on. He felt better driving Bobby's truck and prayed that no one would take it away from him.

As he sat there remembering the past, he felt the tear slide down his cheek. He remembered the day he found out Bobby's name would live on in his son; a son he'd never get to know. He thought of the day RJ, Robert Allen Brown, Jr., was brought into the world kicking and screaming. He had been named RJ's Godfather and swore on his life that he'd always look out for the kid and his mother.

As he began driving the truck back to the road, his mind wandered back to when he found out Bobby had gotten married. No one knew they were serious about a wedding; both said they'd never get married. It wasn't in the cards for them. So, when they showed up at Rangeman one Monday, he was shocked to see the gold bands on their fingers. He was happy for his friends, but pissed that he'd not been there to see the couple tie the knot.

He shook his head when he remembered Bobby's smiling at him and what she'd said, "Lester, you know if you'd been at the wedding, when the minister asked if anyone objected, you'd have voiced your opinion." She was right; he would have. But, only as a joke. He knew the couple loved each other like nothing he'd ever seen. She had waited for them to come back from a mission. She was there at the airport when they departed the plane.

Two weeks later was when Bobby had married. Two months, three weeks, and four days after that was when his world stopped. He was the one that volunteered to go tell Bobby's wife about the shooting. He pulled up to their house. Before he could get of the SUV, he cussed like he'd never done before. He wanted to know why God had taken Bobby and not him. He had no one waiting at home for him. He had no one who loved him and didn't look at him like a monster for what he did for a living. He should have been the one shot; not Bobby.

Steeling his emotions, he went to the door. She opened the door with a huge smile on her face and some sort of "stick" in her hand. One look at Lester, and the stick was forgotten as it dropped to the floor. Lester reached out and grabbed her before she crashed on the hardwood of the doorway.

"I'm so sorry. It should have been me," he kept repeating. The two of them sat in a pile in the center of the doorway and cried. She never asked how that night. She couldn't find the words. In less than ten minutes, her world had gone from ecstatic and ready to tell her husband they were having a baby to crushed and ready to die herself.

Lester pulled into the driveway and waited. He knew she'd be out in a moment. As soon as he turned the radio off, she stepped from the house. Her father was there to watch after RJ while she went for a drive with Lester. This had become their ritual. When one of them was missing Bobby, they'd both get in the truck and just drive. Nine times out of ten, they'd hit the abandoned field, blast the radio, and let loose.

This time, when she sat in the seat, she reached in the back and grabbed the Go Army shirt. Pulling it up to her nose, she inhaled his scent and let her tears go. When she unfolded the shirt, a picture fell out. Picking it up, she recognized it as one she'd sent him while he was gone on the mission. She was wearing the exact shirt she held in her hands at the moment; and nothing else. She'd forgotten all about it and smiled when Lester told her, "That was his favorite picture of you, Beautiful."

"I miss him, Les," Stephanie replied. She turned to the back seat and stared at the Skoal can before laughing, "Man, I hated that he came back with that disgusting habit. I was so ready to throw him out for that."

"I miss him, too, Steph." Lester was trying to keep his emotions under control, but she could see the tears forming in his eyes. She was about to say something to him, but noticed he'd put on his turn signal. Looking up, she saw him turning into Taco Bell and she laughed.

"Have to make sure to keep up some rituals," he told her has he shrugged his shoulders.

Looking up to the sky through the window, she closed her eyes and whispered, "I love you, Bobby." The sun seemed to wink at her as a cloud slid quickly past it. She knew it was a coincidence, but in her heart she felt it was her husband saying he loved her, too.


End file.
